The Eight Futures of Harry Potter
by MuggleBeene
Summary: Harry's dead again, but instead of passing on Death gives him an option; view eight possible futures and pick one to return to the land of the living. People from Harry's past help him with the visions. Which one will he pick? And will he be happy with his choice? AU, Post-Hogwarts. Not part of the Professor Muggle series.
1. The Eight Vials

**Chapter 1: The Eight Vials**

"Wake up, Harry. We need to have a chat."

Harry knew that voice, but it wasn't possible. He felt himself becoming awake, his consciousness slowly returning, and opened his eyes. He didn't really want to wake up, as having a lie-in was definitely a luxury lately, with the way his life had been lately, but while thinking that he didn't want to wake up he actually did wake up. After being annoyed for a few moments Harry opened his eyes and then felt very, very wide awake.

"Oh damn, not again!" He sat up and looked at the ethereal white mists hovering about, nebulously forming the outlines of what he knew was the Hogwarts Quidditch stadium. He looked up at, well, more mist, and shook his head. "What happened?"

"That's why I'm here." Sirius Black appeared over Harry's shoulder, causing his godson to turn and stare. "To help you out."

Even though he knew it was just a memory, just how he saw Sirius in his mind, Harry couldn't help himself; he stood up quickly and gave Sirius a hug. Surprisingly, he felt...real. Solid. Harry jerked back in horror. "Wait, you're real?"

Sirius smiled. "More or less. Tell you what, it's been ages, can you conjure up the Hog's Head? Think of it clearly in your mind, how it looks, how it smells..." For a few moments nothing happened. And then, as if it had always been there, the Hog's Head stood ten meters away. "Brilliant! Oh, and for Merlin's sake think about some clothes. I changed your nappies and all but I don't want to see it now." Sirius looked away for a moment and when he saw that Harry had on jeans, a jumper and trainers he clapped him on the shoulder. "Let's have a pint."

As Harry walked into the pub, feeling the weight of Sirius' arm on his shoulder, he knew what it meant. He was dead, of course. When he had been at King's Cross Station with Dumbledore...and just like then, the version of the Hog's Head he stood in with Sirius was much cleaner, very deserted, and existed because...he turned to Sirius as his godfather helped himself to the pint glasses. "I'm dead, right?"

Sirius flipped his hair out of his face with a hand and smiled. "Well...that's the tricky bit. Let's have a pint first."

Harry noticed that the almost broken, shell of a man that he saw in the Shrieking Shack wasn't in front of him, nor the haunted and frustrated Sirius that fell through the Veil, but a younger-looking version in a green pair of trousers, Muggle trousers actually, a white shirt with a black velvet waistcoat and jacket. As Sirius filled the first pint glass with dark beer Harry looked even closer; those lines around the corners of Sirius' eyes were gone but most importantly there was light in his eyes.

"There." Sirius put a pint glass on the bar and moved around the side, eventually coming to sit next to Harry with his own pint. After a long pull that left foam on the hair of his mustache and dribbled slightly down his beard Sirius wiped away the beer with the back of his hand. "Oh, that's good. Missed that." He turned to Harry. "So about the dead thing..."

Harry turned and stared at his godfather. He looked to be roughly about the same age as he was when he fell through the Veil, but he was different. Instead of...

"Let me explain or you'll hurt your brain. Hah! Rhymed. I crack myself up. Here I'm what I would've been like if I would have never been in Azkaban. Still dashing and all that, just the age I'd be now. You're seeing me as I'd be if I hadn't had that little trip at the Ministry."

Harry almost knocked over his pint. "Little trip! I saw Bellatrix..."

Sirius waved him off. "Trust me, that's of no importance here. Here, that's the thing. Took us the longest time to figure out exactly _why_ you're here."

"That's easy. I'm dead. Done this before, you know."

"Oh yes, I remember." Sirius took another long drink from his pint. "Merlin's short and curlies I've missed that. Anyway, my boy, to be quite honest you're not supposed to be here."

"So why am I here?"

Sirus took a deep breath. "What's the last thing you remember?"

Harry stared for a moment, reached over and took a drink from his pint, immediately regretting the decision as he wasn't that fond of dark beer. "I was at home. Grimmauld Place, I'm living there now. But you probably knew that. You do, don't you?" After seeing Sirius nod Harry continued. "I'm cleaning the place up, making it livable. Kreacher's actually been quite helpful. That's been odd. So I was cleaning out a back closet, not really paying attention because Ginny and I had a row about things before she went back to Hogwarts, and I pulled out something from the back of the closet and...then I woke up here. That's it, really."

"Mother strikes again." Sirius drained the rest of his beer and grabbed Harry's pint glass. "You don't mind, do you? Thanks." After another drink he turned to Harry. "My wonderful mum, you know, 'blood and filth' and all that, had some rather nasty things in her collection. You accidentally found one. Poisoned. Right now you're not only here but in St. Mungo's. Kreacher took you right away, of course, but they can't figure out the poison, so you're hovering between life and death." He smirked. "Sort of like right now, actually. By all rights you actually should be dead, but you're not. The way they explained it to me, well...you're not going to like it."

"What else is new?" Harry wished he had a glass of firewhiskey and a bottle and a glass floated over from behind the bar and settled in front of him.

"Well done, should've thought of that, but this is your show." Sirius laughed.

"Heard that before."

"That's what Dumbledore said." Sirius took on a more somber expression. "Harry, the reason you're not actually dead is, sorry mate, horcrux residue."

"What?"

"Residue. Best we can figure out is that since you lived with that piece of a horcrux inside you for so long it, well, left residue. Aftereffects. That's why you're here when you're not exactly supposed to be, well, here. Don't worry, you're not staying. All the time in the world for that later on, afterwards. Death and I had a chat..."

"You chat with Death?"

"Yeah. He's actually a pretty good bloke. Or she. Kind of iffy on that. Anyway, since you've done what nobody else has done, willingly give up two-thirds of the Deathly Hallows, Death likes you. We've all decided that you had to put up with more than anyone ever has, and since the whole horcrux residue thing means you're not really dead, Death's given you a gift."

"Death. Giving me a gift. Bloody hell." Harry reached over and downed the shot of firewhiskey, feeling it burn all the way down. "Bloody hell."

"Too right. So, I figured you're full of questions. Fire away."

Harry took a deep breath. "Where are Mum and Dad?"

"Oh, they'll be along shortly." He smiled at Harry's happy expression. "Oh yes, you'll get to see everyone before you go back. Least we could do. I'm just the welcoming committee." Sirius drained the last of Harry's pint. "So do you want to know what Death..."

"Yes!" Harry looked at him with a mix of unease and excitement on his face. "But I want to see Mum and Dad. If I find out what it is before that..."

"Don't worry, sport, you'll get to see everyone." Sirius took a deep breath. "You have no idea, Harry, no idea how...you'll figure it out, how much of a gift this is after the first one. Let me see, what was I supposed to do..." Sirius sat for a moment then snapped his fingers. "Ah yes, here we go." Eight shimmering vials of silver-blue liquid popped into existence on the bar. "Got it in one! I'm still brilliant." He turned to Harry. "Each of these vials contain a possible future for you. After you look at them you can pick which one you want."

"Really?" Harry stared at the vials. "But that means I'm going back."

Sirius gently smacked Harry on the back of the head. "Of course you're going back! Don't worry, you won't remember a thing about this. Whatever one you pick will just feel right." Sirius got up and walked around the bar and poured another pint. After sitting it on the bar to let the foam settle he leaned over and looked at Harry. "Before we get to that, though, tell me what's going on with you."

"Can't you see everything from up here?"

"Sort of." Sirius stuck a finger in the pint, causing the foam to dissipate slightly, then pulled out his finger and popped it in his mouth. "I've so missed that. Anyway, I get flashes. Your mum tells me things but I'd rather hear it from you."

Harry thought about another glass of firewhiskey but instead pushed the bottle and glass over to the side. "Well, let's see. After Voldemort was finally gone things were mental for a while. Hermione, Ron and I got Order of Merlin, First Class awards. I've been helping McGonagall rebuild Hogwarts. She's Headmistress now. I've been thinking about what I want to do with the rest of my life. Mrs. Weasley thinks I should help Kingsley at the Ministry. He's Minister for Magic now. The Daily Prophet's been watching me like a hawk, can't hardly go out without them on my heels. Hermione and Ron are finally dating, but that's about how it usually is; they bicker all the time, but now when they make up it about makes me vomit. I'm living at Grimmauld, trying to clean the place, make it livable and all. Like I said, Kreacher's been a great help. Don't give me that look, he has. Ginny and I...well, that's been hard." Harry grew silent for a while, stared down at the bar and reconsidered the firewhiskey. After a bit he turned back to Sirius. "It hasn't been easy. She's still rather hurt that I broke it off, but she knows why. Still doesn't make it easier. And after all that she went through at Hogwarts while I was gone she's not the same. None of us are the same, really. She's back at Hogwarts now with Hermione. I've been helping George and Ron at the shop, just for something to do and to help George, but I got an owl from the Auror department. They want me to join up."

Sirius nodded. "Your dad told me about that. So, Harry, as your godfather, let me ask you; what do you want to do? What makes you happy, really happy?"

"I...I don't know." Harry grew silent. Eventually, his voice came out barely above a whisper. "I don't know anymore, Sirius."

Sirius put his arm around Harry. His voice was soft and full of emotion. "That's because you didn't think you'd actually live this long, isn't it? Don't say anything, I know it's the truth. But if anyone deserves to be happy, Harry, it's you. You've done more than anyone should ever have to do, and now you've got choices." A pensieve appeared on the bar, a golden basin with silver filagree. "You've got choices now. Death said that you'll be happy in each one, but not for how long or how happy. Just the way it works, apparently."

Harry stared at the vials. "So what do I do?"

Once again Sirius lightly smacked him on the back of the head. "Pensieve, come on. Don't tell me you've forgotten how they work?

"I remember." He took a few deep breaths. "Will I see you again when I come out?"

"Yeah, before you go back. I won't be here when you come out, though. Somebody else will. We all get to take turns. Quite a commotion to see who got to talk to you. You'd think every relative you'd ever had would know better, but your, let's see, your great-great-great-great-great grandfather Potter was quite insistent you'd want to meet him. Your dad took care of that, told him he'd have all the time in the world later on. Don't worry, you'll meet him eventually." Sirius gave him a smirk. "I'm not supposed to tell but when you get out your mum will be here. Don't tell her I told you."

Harry laughed. "Ok, then, so just pick one and..."

"That's it. Just pick one." Sirius paused. "But can you let me finish my pint first?

"Sure, Sirius." As Sirius drank the rest of his pint Harry stared at the vials. Eight futures. Eight. "Why eight?"

Sirius tipped the last of the beer into his mouth. "One for each horcrux, mate. Death's like that, you'll find out eventually."

"Right." Harry looked at the vials, took the one from the end of the line and poured it into the pensieve.


	2. The First Vial

**Chapter 2: The First Vial**

The pensieve swirled, silvery liquid and grey liquid mixed together, and Harry put his face in to see his future.

He stood in Grimmauld Place, but a Grimmauld Place that was much different than it was when he left it what seemed just a few seconds ago. Gone was the dark, gloomy interior, replaced instead by bright light, new furniture and tasteful walls. The dark wood was now clean and polished, displaying an intricate parquet on the floor that had been covered with years of grime.

He walked through the house and stopped suddenly at the sound of children's voices. Children?

"_Mummy, James took my diary!" A little red-haired girl flew down the steps, in tears. "MUMMY!"_

"_DID NOT!" An older boy's shout echoed down the stairs. "IT WAS ALBUS!"_

_A boy with untidy black hair and green eyes barreled down the steps. "It wasn't me, Lils, James did it. You know I wouldn't do that."_

Harry watched as Ginny came around the corner, an apron on, her hands and apron slightly dusted with flour. She was older, slightly larger than she was now, especially in the hips and the chest, which Harry couldn't help but stare at. Shaking out his hormones Harry watched her kneel down and take the little girl into her arms, and that's when Harry realized he'd named his daughter after his mum.

"_Lily, what happened?"_

_The little girl sobbed into her mum's arms. "James...sob...took...sob...MY DIARY!"_

_The green-eyed boy nodded. "He did, Mum. I saw him with it."_

_Ginny turned to the boy. "Thank you, Albus." She smoothed her daughter's red hair, a shade slightly darker than her own. "Shhhh...it's ok, Lils. Your father and I will deal with him when your father's home."_

_That did not appease Lily, though. "But...but...Dad's at work forever! He's never home!"_

"_That's because Dad's an Auror, Lily. The Head Auror." The boy seemed proud. "He's got a really important job."_

Harry stood motionless, unable to move even if he wanted to. He'd married Ginny. It had all worked out. Not only that, he had three children, and he'd named two of them after his parents and one after...Dumbledore? And he was an Auror, not only that, but the Head Auror!

_Ginny kissed her daughter's head. "He'll be at Hogwarts next week, you just have to put up with him until then. Don't worry, though, he will be in very big trouble." She turned to the boy. "Albus, go tell James to come down here right now." The boy nodded, ran upstairs and Ginny turned back to her daughter. "Albus will be at Hogwarts soon and it'll just be us, Lily. You won't have to worry about that anymore. Tell you what, I'll put a locking charm on your diary, will that help?"_

_The little girl nodded and then turned to her mum. "Can Auntie Luna 'bliviate him?"_

_Ginny laughed slightly. "No, sweetie, you can't ask your Aunt to obliviate your brother."_

"_But she's a 'bliviator!"_

"_Yes, and there are rules about that."_

Harry stood enraptured but suddenly the scene changed.

-ooo-

He was at the Burrow, standing out in the shed with Ron. Ron looked much older, grey flecking his hair, and for some reason he'd grown a beard. Both of them had firewhiskey in their hand. Both of them looked horrible.

"_I don't know what to say, Harry. Hermione can't suss it out, either."_

"_It's ok, Ron. I can't either."_

Harry stared at the future version of himself. He was taller, had filled out some, and his glasses were different. What really struck him, though, was how unhappy he looked.

"_Mum's a wreck." Ron drank his firewhiskey in a single go. "She thought after Ginny quit Quidditch she was happy writing about it. Everybody thought you two were happy. Hell, all that shit in the papers about the 'Golden Couple' and all that and...don't say anything, I know it's rubbish. We've had too many firewhiskeys for me to believe that. Or not enough."_

_Harry stared at his glass. "I guess it's been a good run, though. And there's the kids. I think that's the only good thing out of the whole mess."_

"_A good run? Harry, I...I don't know what to say, mate."_

"_Yeah." Harry drank his firewhiskey and poured another. "I know we have our problems, everybody does. But I always thought we could get past it."_

"_Pfft. You know about me an' Hermione. Slept in your spare bedroom often enough."_

"_But you two always work it out." Harry looked at Ron, pain in his eyes. "Why's it different with me and Ginny?"_

"_Just is, I guess. She's always been that way, you know as well as I do." Silence fell in the shed for a long time until Ron looked up. "So, divorce?"_

"_Yeah." Harry nodded slowly. "Got the papers yesterday."_

"_I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. If there's anything me an' Hermione can do..."_

"_Thanks."_

Harry stood and stared at the future version of him and Ron. Divorce? It was that bad? What could have happened? They had three children, for Merlin's sake!

-ooo-

Once again the scene shifted. Harry stood at what he guessed was St. Mungo's, but a different floor than he'd ever been on, at least the few times he'd been there. People were milling about, and in a sudden, sharp pang he recognized them. Molly and Arthur, looking much older. Ron and Hermione, sitting next to a girl that could only be their daughter, with her wild, bushy brown hair and freckles, but she had to be at least in her twenties. And then he recognized himself, an even older version than the one he saw in the shed at the Burrow not moments ago. He was almost fully grey now, and his glasses had changed yet again. The door opened and all eyes turned to see Ginny walk in with a blonde-haired man, someone Harry didn't recognize. Ginny was different; she had gained a bit of weight, looked a lot like Molly and a large diamond glistened on her left hand. Ginny looked at everyone, nodded to Harry and her family and then sat down across from older Harry.

"_Any news yet?"_

_Harry shook his head. "Nothing yet." He turned to the blond man and stuck out his hand. The man shook it. "She been a mess, eh Reggie?"_

"_Yeah." The man nodded. "Took the first portkey out from New York. First ones in line at the station."_

_Ginny rolled her eyes. "I'm not missing the birth of my first grandchild."_

"_Our grandchild." Harry kept his eyes on her until she looked away._

"_Of course." She ducked his glance and turned to Reggie. "Did you make the reservation..."_

"_All taken care of, honey." Reggie smiled at her but it quickly died. _

_An uncomfortable silence fell over the room, only broken by the murmurs of Arthur and Molly talking to each other. Eventually, though, Ron came over and sat by them._

"_So Reg, what's the team look like this year?"_

_The blonde man turned to Ron. "Pretty good, I think. We signed that Keeper out of France last week. He cost more than I thought, but what can you say? I want my Falcons to take the title. I can't have my team win if I don't spend."_

_Ron nodded. "Yeah, must be a horrible burden to own a Quidditch team. Still not up to the European league."_

Harry stood silent, once again transfixed by the scene in front of him. Ginny had married an American who owned a Quidditch team? She lived in New York?

_The door across the room burst open, and a young man with untidy black hair and green eyes walked in beaming, a blue bundle in his arms. "Dad? Mum? Everyone? It's a boy!"_

_Everyone got up and crowded around. Molly's tears came quickly as Arthur hugged her. Eventually, the boy laid the baby in Harry's arms. Harry held the baby and smiled a true, honest smile. "Al, I can't believe it, he's really here. How's Alice?"_

"_She's fine, Dad, resting." Albus smiled and looked at his parents. "Want to know what we named him?" He smiled even brighter. "His name is Harry Fabian Potter."_

Harry stood there in amazement. He had a grandson named after him? And after Molly's brother, whose watch he wore? He had a grandson! All thought seemed to rush out of his head, and as the people cooed and smiled and cried he felt so many things, all at once. He had a grandson, but Ginny wasn't his wife. He had a life, and the older version of himself looked very happy, holding the baby, but there was still pain in that version's eyes. After a bit he shook his head and listened to Ron and Hermione, a bit away from the others, talking quietly.

"_I'm so happy for them, Ron, but poor Harry. He should have someone to share this with."_

"_He does, 'Mione, us."_

"_But that's not the same and you know it."_

_Ron nodded. "Well, according to the trainees he's married to the job. What is it they say, when someone asks if the Head Auror's in? 'Of course, he's always in.' Leave it, we've talked about this forever. You know after they lost the baby everything went to hell. It's just life, Hermione. Not everybody gets a happy ending like us. Besides, look at him? He's gonna spoil the kid rotten."_

-ooo-

The pensieve emptied Harry back at the Hog's Head, alone at the bar. He sat there for a few moments and then reached over, poured a big shot of firewhiskey and drank it immediately.

"Harry James Potter, are you drinking?"

Even after all that he'd seen, and all that he was feeling, Harry felt as if he got all of his Christmases at once, because he knew that voice. "Mum!"

And then she was there, really there, and he could feel her arms around him, her breath, her hair. His mum.

"Oh Harry." She leaned back and brushed his hair from his forehead. "You sweet boy. I've wanted to do that for so long..."

"Me too." Harry wiped away a tear. "I wanted to, out in the forest, but I knew that..."

"Shhhh...don't talk about that. It's in the past." She pulled him into another hug.

Harry suddenly realized he was taller than his mum and laughed. "You're kind of short, Mum."

"Hush, you sound like your father." She kissed his cheek. "He's anxious to see you, too."

Harry was quiet for a while and thought about all that he'd missed, everything that he wanted to tell her, and it all seemed to rush to the front until it was bottled up, waiting, as if behind a dam. Finally he couldn't stand it. "Mum, there's so much I want to tell you, so..."

She put a finger to his lips. "There will be time for that, but not now. So why are we at the Hog's Head? Let me guess, Sirius?" Lily saw his nod and rolled her eyes. "I swear Sirius keeps going on and on about not being able to drink beer anymore, I should have known. It's not like that, where we are, but still...I'll give that mangy dog a piece of my mind."

Harry laughed. "I'm of age now, Mum."

"Well of course you are, but that's not the point!" Her eyes smiled even though her voice was stern. "Let's have a cup of tea and talk."

Once again Harry thought of something and it appeared. The Hog's Head dissipated and instead he found himself in the Gryffindor Common Room, a warm fire casting shadows on the walls while snow gently fell outside the tower windows. Christmas decorations were hung about and a tree bedecked with ornaments sat in the corner.

"Harry?" Lily looked at him as they sat in front of the fireplace, tea and biscuits on the table. "Why here?"

He thought for a moment. "Because this was when I missed you the most. When I stayed here over holiday. I always used to imagine what it would be like to get off the train and see you and Dad there."

She took his hand. "It would have been lovely." They sat quietly for a few moments until she cleared her throat. "So, I understand you saw one of your futures. You can choose that one or look at another."

"Can I change what happened in that future?"

Lily shrugged. "I don't know. You don't have to look at them all. You can just pick one and then you'll be back. From what I know you won't remember any of this. Well, not until you're here again, for good." She took a cup of tea, added some lemon, and then took a sip. "Ah, I sort of understand Sirius, now. I've missed that." She placed the teacup back on the little table. "I take it since you were drinking firewhiskey that you didn't like that future very much."

Harry sighed. "It has some good parts, but..." He ran a hand through his hair. "I'm not sure..."

Lily reached over and tried to smooth his hair. "Just like your father's. I'm sorry, Harry. Maybe you should look at another one?"

"Do I have to? Can't we just have tea for a while? Mum?"

She looked over to the side, as if she was listening to something. "We can, until the tea is gone. I'm sorry, sweetie, but only until then."

For the next half hour Harry had tea with his mum. He told her about things that he knew she had already seen, or whatever it was she did to know what was going on in his life, but she didn't care. Neither of them did. They simply reveled in the fact that they were having tea. Every so often Harry would reach out and touch her, on the arm, or take her hand, just to reinforce the fact that he could do so, could do what he'd dreamed about almost all his life.

Finally, though, the tea was gone.

"Harry, you have to decide now." Lily smiled at him and straightened his glasses. "Remember, whatever you choose, please choose something happy. You've gone through too much. I don't know if I can take much more..."

"I will, Mum." Harry looked away from her and down to the table. Seven vials and a pensieve sat where the tea things were seconds ago. Tentatively he reached for one, changed his mind, and took the middle one. "I love you, Mum."

"Oh Harry, I love you, too. More than you'll ever know."

Harry dumped the vial into the pensieve, watched it swirl, and then with a last look at his mum put his face in the shimmering liquid.


	3. The Second Vial

**Chapter 3: The Second Vial**

The swirl and eddies of the pensieve began to materialize and Harry found himself standing in a garden outside a house. As he looked around he realized it was a Muggle house, in a Muggle neighborhood that he didn't recognize. It was summer and it looked as if a quick rain shower had just ended.

Before he could think more on where he was the back door of the house opened, revealing two people, a man and a woman who he recognized immediately; Hermione's parents. He'd accompanied her to Australia to retrieve them and restore their memories, helping clear legal hurdles by invoking his fame for the only time that opportunity had arisen, as the Australian magical authorities were not pleased with Hermione, to say the least. He watched as Hermione's father carried a platter full of sausages over to a grill while Hermione' s mum began setting a little garden table with a tablecloth and plates.

"_How soon are they going to be here, Jean?" Hermione's father sat the platter down on a little table next to the grill. "Should I start it now?"_

"_Honestly, Richard, you've forgotten already?" Jean straightened out a corner of the tablecloth. "Hermione said they'd be here after they talked to Ron."_

"_Bet that's a fun one." He rolled his eyes. "But what time? Don't want to put things on if they're going to sit all day. I'm not serving burnt sausages."_

"_Five, they said they'd be here at five, half five at the latest." She finished the tablecloth and turned to her husband. "Be easy on them, Dick. It has to be difficult."_

"_Especially for Ron." Dick looked at his watch. "Should be about right, I'll light it. Let the coals get ready." Before he did, though, he turned to his wife. "She's sure of this, right? And what's going to happen with him and Ron at work?"_

"_Yes, she's sure of this. They both are, I had lunch with her the other day, you know; you had the emergency appointment when the Bradley boy broke his incisor."_

"_Little git. That wasn't fun. Massive gag reflex." He took a deep breath. "So what happened at lunch?"_

"_She told me what happened. I know you haven't been a fan of Ron over the years, and she knew that as well, but as for her and Harry? I saw it coming miles away. You know how much she talked about him, especially when she was at school. Apparently when he and Ginny broke up, she's seeing some boy named Dean again, from what Hermione said, when he and Ginny broke up she was the one he talked to. Discussing all the things that went wrong, and how Ginny treated him, well, it made Hermione think about her and Ron."_

"_Little shit always..."_

"_Richard! Hush! Do you want to hear this or not? Well? Then button up. Anyway, nothing happened for a long time. You know she broke it off with Ron before Christmas. There was that thing at her work, that New Year's thing, and since they both work for the government they had to attend. He asked her to go and that's when it all started. She also said she was nervous bringing him here for some reason. Care to tell?"_

"_Uh, ah..." Richard became very interested in grill._

"_Richard Hugo Granger! What did you do?"_

_He rolled his eyes and turned back to his wife. "I didn't mean to, Jean, but she mentioned the other day about her electricity at the flat, how it was all wonky. I just stopped by. You were at that conference in Leicester. She gave us keys to her place, for emergencies and all that, but it was two in the afternoon. Figured she'd be at work."_

"_Richard..."_

"_Ok, ok. So I let myself in to go work on the electricity. Figured it was a bad breaker, and after I got in there I heard them."_

"_You heard them? What, talking?"_

"_Uh, no. Not exactly. So I went in and there they were. In bed."_

"_Oh my God." Jean put her hand up to her mouth. "You didn't."_

_Dick put his hands up. "I didn't say anything! I just walked out, but I think she saw me."_

_Jean shook her head, then suddenly stopped and looked at her husband. "No wonder Harry wouldn't look you in the eye at their engagement party! I just thought...oh bloody hell, Dick. You've stepped in it this time." She set the silverware around the plates. "What are you going to say to her?"_

"_Dunno." Dick shrugged. "Kind of hard to say 'sorry I walked in on you and Harry shagging, sweetie. Fancy a cider?' Don't think that's going to work. Besides, I doubt it comes up. They probably have too much on their mind, telling Ron they're engaged. How do you do that, tell your ex-boyfriend and his best mate that you're engaged?_

Harry stood and watched the Grangers continue to prepare for the little garden party, shocked. Him...and Hermione? Shagging? And in this one he and Ginny had broken up as well, but this time she was back together with Dean Thomas? It was hard to take in. But then he thought about Hermione. She'd always been like a sister, he didn't have to explain a lot with her, she knew him so well. Maybe that's why it would work.

-ooo-

As Harry was contemplating a future with Hermione the scene shifted again. He was in a little office, nicely decorated, with books everywhere. A little nameplate on the desk read 'Hermione J. Potter, DMLE.' A picture of Harry and Hermione at what was obviously their wedding sat on the side of the desk. Harry was in a dark Muggle suit, quite a posh one, while Hermione had on a beautiful white wedding dress. She leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed him.

The door suddenly swung open and Hermione entered, looking older. She slammed some files down on her desk and walked over to the window, crossed her arms and stared outside at the rain. A few moments later an older version of Harry walked in and went over to Hermione, stood behind her and put his arms around her. If Harry had to guess they were in their late twenties.

"_Come on, love, we can go to another hospital." Hermione rested her head against the glass and sobbed. Harry pulled her closer. "We'll get through this."_

"_But I don't WANT to get through this, Harry!" She spun around and faced him, tears streaming from her eyes. "It's not FAIR."_

"_Shhh...I know love, I know."_

_They were quiet for a while until Hermione broke the silence. "Why can't I have a baby, Harry? Why?"_

"_I don't know. The healers said a lot of things, I don't understand most of it. It happens. We're not the only ones."_

"_But it's not right, Harry." She turned away from him. "I'm not a proper wife. A proper wife should give you a family. If anyone deserves a family it's you, Harry."_

"_No, shhh." Harry pulled her in close again. "You're all I need, Hermione. I've always needed you and I always will."_

"_You...it's not fair. It's not fair. It's not fair."_

_Harry ran his hand through her bushy hair. "I know about things not being fair. If life was fair I'd have lived with my parents instead of the Dursleys. But if that would have happened I'm not sure I wouldn't have you, things might have been different. I'm an expert at 'what if' so don't try that with me. Besides, we have Teddy. Don't tell me you don't think of him as ours, because I certainly do."_

_She turned away from him, wiped her eyes and with a determined look went over and sat at her desk. She flipped open the file and began reading through it with anger. "There's got to be something in here. Something in these results."_

Harry stood and watched as Hermione tore through the file and then looked over to the older version of himself, standing by the window. There was so much pain in that older version of him, he could see it clearly, and he felt his heart sink. Hermione loved him, that was hard enough to wrap his brain around, but why couldn't they have kids?

-ooo-

Once again the mists of the pensieve swirled, depositing Harry in another office, one vaguely familiar. As the surroundings came into clearer view he saw the portraits on the wall and knew immediately where he was; the headmaster's office at Hogwarts. There, in plain view, was the portrait of Albus Dumbledore, sleeping. Directly above the headmaster's desk, though, was the portrait of Minerva McGonagall, awake and petting her tabby cat.

Harry moved around the room, slowly, taking it all in, as it had changed so much since the last time he was in the office, when it was Dumbledore's office. McGonagall had used her old classroom office when he had helped rebuild Hogwarts, and by the time she had moved into the headmaster, or headmistresses office Harry had been elsewhere. As he looked further, closer at the office he realized that the same picture he had seen on Hermione's desk, the one of them getting married, sat on the headmaster's desk. It was then that he realized that it wasn't the headmaster's desk, but the headmistresses' desk. Hermione's desk. He smiled as he realized that it was rather an obvious position for her; nobody loved school and learning more than Hermione.

Noises brought Harry out of his reverie, as two people entered the room, both much older. One was a tall, rangy man who looked like he spent a lot of time outdoors while the other was a petite strawberry-blonde woman, strikingly pretty but slightly plump. They walked over to the desk and the woman picked up the picture of Harry and Hermione's wedding, looked at it for a bit, and then sat it down on the desk gently.

"_Shouldn't we let your dad do this, Ted?"_

"_No, Vic. He's having a hard enough time of it as it is. It's the least I can do." He waved his wand and boxes flew into the room. They settled at his feet and he looked at them for a long time. Finally, with a sigh, he picked one up. "Don't know how we're going to get all the books in here. We're gonna need a million boxes."_

Harry took a deep breath. If they were cleaning out her office, then that meant...she was dead. And suddenly it registered who the people were in the office; Teddy Lupin and Victoire Weasley.

"_Call one of the house elves, Ted. You know they'd do anything for her."_

"_Not now. They're taking this pretty hard. One of them stopped by when I was out with the Thestrals. They're having a service for her tomorrow. House elves only."_

_Victoire stood at one of the bookcases, pulled out an armful of books and placed them in one of the boxes. "Saint Hermione of the House Elves. Your mum did more for them than anybody. Think of what it was like, back when they were here as students. It's so different now. Can you imagine house elves attending as students, like when we were here?"_

"_Not bloody likely." Ted laughed. "From what Dad said they were happy little servants, but Mum always said they were misguided slaves." He stopped and looked at the picture on the desk again. "You know Mum wanted kids, more than anything. Dad talked to me about it once, right before we got married. Said he'd do anything in the world to make that happen, but it just...wasn't in the cards, I guess."_

"_Yes, but think about it, Teddy. Could you have asked for better parents, since yours were gone? They were always there for you, and they never let you forget Remus and Tonks."_

"_Yeah." Ted nodded sadly and then smiled. "It's one of the reasons I got spoiled. At least by Dad."_

_Victoire rolled her eyes. "And it's taken me decades to fix that, thank you very much. At least you don't spoil our grandchildren that badly. Always took me days to get our girls back to normal after they'd stay over at Harry and Hermione's house. 'Oh mum, Grandpa Harry lets me eat treacle tart! Granny 'Mione lets me stay up and read.' Merlin." Victoire was quiet for a moment. "Ted, what are we going to do with him? We can't let him rattle around Grimmauld Place by himself. It's not right. He's got nothing to do now that he's retired from the Aurors."_

"_Dunno. Thought about bringing him here with me at work. Have him help with the grounds and stuff, but I don't know if that's such a good idea. Him and mum lived her for years. Bound to remind him of her everywhere he goes. Maybe we should have him live with us?"_

"_It crossed my mind. Not that I don't love having him with us, but I don't know if he'd want that. He's so damned independent."_

"_Always has been, you're not changing that, Vic, not now. He's set in his ways." He smirked at her, but it faded quickly. "Do you know I caught him trying to sneak out on that ancient Firebolt the other day?"_

"_He did not!"_

"_He tried. I caught him before he could take off. Said he was going to go over to the Burrow and see if Ron wanted to play two-a-side Quidditch. Vic, he thought Charlie and Ginny were there."_

_Vic covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh Teddy. That's so sad."_

"_Yeah, tell me about it. I told him they were off in Romania with Charlie, that seemed to do the trick. Didn't have the heart to tell him Ron's in Azkaban and both Ginny and Charlie were dead. I mean, how long has it been now? Ages. I can tell you, Vic, I'm not looking forward to getting old."_

"_You are old, dear. We're old." _

"_I know, don't rub it in. I mean, look." Teddy relaxed his face and his hair turned completely white. A second later it returned to a chestnut brown. "Have to think about it or I'm whiter than Granddad Weasley was before he passed. At least I still have hair."_

"_I'm just glad Molly passed before Ron went to Azkaban. It would have broken her heart." Victoire walked over to the desk and picked up the wedding picture. "If we have anything like they had I'll be happy."_

_Ted walked over and put his arms around Victoire. "We do, love, we do. And don't think for a moment they didn't have children. Besides me there were all those kids at Hogwarts. They had tons of kids."_

The pensieve swirled again and Harry found himself back in the Gryffindor common room, alone, six vials of shimmering liquid on the table.


	4. The Third Vial

**Chapter 4: The Third Vial**

Harry sat and stared at the shimmering vials in front of him, afraid to touch one. He'd seen two possible futures, one better than the other, but both of them left him with a large pit in his stomach. Suddenly a bright flash of light almost blinded him, causing him to cover his eyes. When he looked around it was obvious he wasn't in the Common Room anymore, as things zipped by overhead, causing him to duck.

"Sorry 'bout that, mate! Forgot we made those."

"Fred?" Harry turned around and looked and there, standing next to the counter, in a garish purple robe, was Fred Weasley. He looked as he had the first time Harry had stepped foot in the shop. "The shop?"

"Of course! Love the place, can't get enough. I stop by every now and then just to creep out George. Fun to watch him have the willies."

Harry laughed and then grew thoughtful. "I thought my Dad was coming next."

"Oh, he'll be along eventually. After the last one your mum thought I better come see you. Dreadfully sad, wasn't it?"

"What?" Harry adjusted his glasses. "You can see it?"

"Hmmm, more or less. Too bad I didn't get to see you and Hermione shagging. Loads of material to take the mickey, but no, had to have her dad's view. Well, then. What'dya think so far? Oh, and leave Ginny out of this, I don't want to talk about that one."

"Uh, ok. Well..." Harry stared as a fanged frisbee flew across the room. "I'm not sure. I don't know about me and Hermione, it seemed good, but sad. Really sad."

"But there were good parts, like, you know, shagging Hermione for decades. Thought about that a bit myself, once. But we're here for you, not for me, mate. So, let's see what we've got here." Fred waved his hand and six perfectly wrapped presents, in purple and green paper, appeared in front of Harry, floating at eye level. "I'm sure there's a good one in there somewhere. I guarantee nothing will explode; Big D made me promise."

"Big D?" Harry's mind went immediately to his cousin Dudley, who he hadn't thought about in ages.

"Oh yeah. Death. He's a hell of a card player, but that's not important. Pick a present, winner every time. Well, winning is sort of implied, I guess, but you at least know it won't explode. Or do you just want to pick one and go with that, ignore the rest?"

"You really play cards with Death?"

"Only on Tuesdays. He's a rather busy chap. Bird. Anyway, pick your poison. Sorry, bad choice of words."

"Only you, Fred. Or George, I guess. Did you know he's dating..."

"Angelina Johnson. Took him long enough. He's horrible at...never mind, Harry. Are you dragging this out on purpose? Unbelievable chance you've got here, mate. Don't want to give all that up, do you?"

Harry thought about it for a moment and then reached for the closest box. As soon as he opened it purple smoke enveloped him, causing him to wave his arms to make it go away. After a few coughs he glared at Fred. "I thought you said it wouldn't explode."

"And it didn't, did it? Smoke doesn't explode. Couldn't resist. Also, take a look." He brandished a mirror out of his sleeve and held it in front of Harry.

Harry looked into the mirror and smirked. His skin was a faint purple color. "Nice, Fred, nice."

"Oh quit whingeing, it won't last. Go on, then." He pointed to a small table with a pensieve. "Have at it."

Once again Harry poured the silver liquid into the pensieve, watched it swirl, and after steadying his nerves began another view of a possible future.

-ooo-

Harry found himself standing in front of a giant house, something out of one of those grand houses tours he went on with Hermione once. The sun was bright, and if he was not in a pensieve it would have felt hot on his skin. As it was he felt nothing. The grounds were expertly manicured, hedges just so, flowers abundant throughout the long walk up to the house. Not knowing what to do he stood there, unsure of whether to head up to the house, but before he could decide he heard voices. Speaking French. He didn't understand what they were saying, but as soon as he thought that all of the sudden it changed and he understood every word perfectly.

"_Gabrielle, Maman will be furious." _

Harry walked around a hedge and saw them sitting on a small bench; Fleur and Gabrielle. Gabrielle held a hand over her stomach and looked down while Fleur looked apoplectic.

"_It's my life, Fleur."_

"_Non, it is more than that now, isn't it?" Fleur shook her head. "And Papa? I don't want to think what will happen. You should be glad Harry is good at spells or Papa would take his head off."_

"_We didn't plan this, it just happened." Gabrielle turned and stared at her sister. "And we're keeping it."_

"_Of course you are, what do you think I would say?" Fleur got up and walked forward a bit._

Harry stood there, motionless. Gabrielle was much older than the last time he had seen her, and she was...well, beautiful was the only word. Gorgeous. Even more so that Fleur, and he didn't know if that was possible. And then Harry's brain kicked in; Gabrielle was pregnant, and not only that, it was his.

"_How did this happen, Gabrielle?"_

"_I think you know how it happens."_

"_Not that, ooh, are you trying to make me mad?"_

"_No, you're doing quite well on your own. But it was when he came over with the Aurors, the ceremony? You know, the one the government gave him for getting rid of that idiot who thought he was the new Voldemort? I was there because all Department of Magical Relations employees were required to attend. He didn't know anyone. But then he saw me, we had a bottle of wine, then another, and then we went back at my house."_

"_Does he know?"_

_Gabrielle shook her head. "Not yet. You're the first person I've told."_

_Fleur paced and cursed for a while. Eventually she turned back to her sister. "I thought he had a girlfriend?"_

"_Non, they broke up. Her team is busy with Quidditch."_

"_How long? How long ago did they break up?"_

_Gabrielle threw her hands in the air. "I don't know, why don't you owl Angelina Johnson and ask her? I bet she'll love that."_

"_You are impossible!" Fleur shook her head and clenched her fists. "You must tell him. Now. Go. Don't come back until he knows."_

"_But what will Maman say when I'm not here for her birthday?"_

"_I'll tell her something came up. It won't be the first birthday of hers you've missed, little sister."_

"_Stop throwing that in my face!" Gabrielle stood and glared at her sister. "Fine. I'll go." She took a few steps away and then turned back. "And I don't want to see you for a while, not until you can be happy about this, because I AM."_

-ooo-

Once again the scene changed, depositing Harry on the steps of a large house in the country. It was spring, and the green of the hillsides enveloped him as the house was the only thing for miles. He glanced over and saw Quidditch rings in the distance. For a moment he thought about going over to see if there was a game going on but once again noises brought his attention out of his thoughts. A blonde-haired boy ran out of the door, literally right through him, carrying a broom. Harry quickly moved to the other side as two other boys, slightly smaller than the first, the smallest with black hair, carried their brooms and ran after the first boy towards the pitch.

Gabrielle exited the door after them, older, slightly larger in the hips, but she was still beautiful.

"_Two hours, boys, that's all. Your father will be home soon."_

_The boys waved an arm over their head to indicate they'd heard her and hopped on their brooms, streaking up into the sky. Gabrielle rolled her eyes and went back inside._

Harry followed Gabrielle back into the house, walking straight through the door as if it didn't exist. It was while contemplating how he'd done that when he saw Hermione sitting at a very nice table with tea set out. Gabrielle pulled her long hair back and retied it before sitting down with Hermione.

"_Quidditch mad, they're all Quidditch mad."_

_Hermione smiled. "They come by it honestly. Harry was always on the pitch. Said it was the only place he was truly happy when we were at school."_

"_He's almost as bad as they are, even now. Some days he comes home, barely says a word to me, gives me a kiss and that smile and then he is out on the broom. You would think after playing Auror all over France he would be tired, but no." She smiled and poured the tea. "Its one reason we bought this place. He took one look and said 'the pitch can go over there.' I don't even think he asked the price." Gabrielle took a sip of her tea. "But you did not come all this way to talk Quidditch."_

_Hermione sat her teacup on the table. "No, no I didn't. Gabrielle, why don't you give it another chance? Molly and Arthur ask about you, Harry and the boys every Sunday."_

"_Non. Not until Fleur pulls her head out of her..."_

"_How long has it been? You're sisters."_

"_Not after what she said to me." Gabrielle shook her head vehemently. "And on my wedding day, no less! Maman and Papa finally came around, but her? No, she's too stubborn."_

"_She married a Weasley. They're all stubborn."_

"_As you should know. How is Ron? Harry tells me he's up for a promotion."_

"_He's good. He's in line to be Head Auror, but nothing's certain yet. Part of me wishes that he and Harry were still working together, though."_

_Gabrielle smiled sadly. "But our home is in France, Hermione. And Molly and Arthur visit; it isn't like they don't see the boys."_

"_You know it's different for Molly. Every Sunday she has five extra plates on the sideboard, hoping you will stop over. She wants her family together." Hermione took a sip of tea and rubbed her fingers along the side of the china cup. "What does Harry say?"_

"_That he will go over there when Fleur and Bill apologize, and even then he'll take some time to think about it. Bill was quite horrible to him, you know. I think he was hoping that Harry would get back together with Ginny. He didn't think Harry and Angelina were right for each other, and he was right about that, but not about Ginny."_

_Hermione raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know that about Bill."_

_Gabrielle huffed. "Ask Ron. I'm sure he knows. It is impossible to keep a secret amongst Weasleys."_

_Hermione let out a sigh. "I'm a Weasley, Gabrielle."_

"_Yes, but you married one, you were not raised in that house. Those boys cannot keep secrets. It all comes out eventually, over firewhiskey or food."_

"_True, true." Hermione looked at her watch. "I'm sorry, but I must go. The children are coming back from Hogwarts tomorrow and..."_

_Gabrielle reached forward and took Hermione's hand. "And I know, my dear, that you cannot wait. I also know how much you want things to be different, but he is happy. Besides, we are all going to Spain for the summer holiday. We'll sit on the beach while he and Ron do stupid things with the children in the water, and later we'll watch as they drink too much and are even bigger idiots."_

_Hermione laughed. "Yes, I'm sure that'll happen." She stood up and hugged Gabrielle. "I'll send you an owl."_

Harry stood there in shock. He lived in France? He hadn't seen the Weasleys in years? Then he corrected himself, he hadn't been to The Burrow in years, all because of what happened with Gabrielle and Fleur. Harry laughed and shook his head. He'd dated Angelina Johnson?

Before he could think further on it the scene disappeared.

-ooo-

Instead of seeing more of his life with Gabrielle, like the other futures, Harry found himself in a field of white. There was nothing around him. No walls, no floor, no furniture or anything, only white. For a moment he felt as if he was falling, since he couldn't see the ground, but he remained upright. It was still too much for him, as he felt as if he was floating, and before he knew it there underneath him was his Firebolt.

It felt good to be on the Firebolt again. Even though he didn't know where he was he kicked off and felt the sensation of rising in the air, and then it all materialized around him; the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch. With unbridled joy he shot around the pitch, weaving in and out of the Keeper rings, finally climbing as high as possible and diving down towards the grass, pulling up at the very last minute.

"Wronski feint! Well done!"

Harry turned and saw a figure approach on a broom, a figure with messy black hair, just like his. "Dad!"

James flew closer and tossed a Quaffle at his son. Harry caught it and laughed. "Nicely done, my boy. Nicely done." He hovered close to Harry and gave him a hug. "You know I'll hear about that from your mum. Drives her mental watching you play, especially when you got hurt."

Harry laughed. "Is that a mum-thing?"

"Absolutely. My mum used to go spare watching me an' Sirius. He's in the doghouse with your mum, you know."

Harry laughed again. "Yeah, about the drinking."

"She'll get over it." James pointed down to the stands. "Let's go have a chat."

The two Potters flew down and landed on the pitch and then climbed up into the stands. As they sat there Harry looked over at his Dad. "Hey, I'm taller!"

"Don't rub it in." James smiled and then pulled his son into a hug. "Merlin, I've wanted to do that for years."

"Me too, Dad. Me too."

Finally he held Harry out at arm's length. "Still doesn't seem right, seeing you all grown up. Glad I got you that toy broom, though."

"I thought Sirius bought me that?"

"Nah, I did, but we said he did. I'd have got a lot of stick from your mum." He looked at Harry and shook his head. "I should have been there to tell you things..."

"It's ok, Dad. I knew you would if you could."

"I know, but that doesn't make it right." James sighed and then smiled. "So, possible futures, eh? Tell me what you think so far."

"You saw it, Dad. Well, Fred said he could, anyway."

James nodded. "Yes, I saw, but that doesn't tell me what you think."

Harry sat silently for a while. "I'm not sure what to think. I...I don't know if I want to look at the others. I might just pick one I haven't seen and go with it."

"Well, son, if you do that, you'll have some disappointed people. They wanted to visit with you."

"Really?" Harry looked at him. "What if I have them all here at once? Would that work?"

James laughed and pointed out at the pitch. "Ask the ref."

A man dressed like a professional Quidditch referee flew over, dismounted and climbed the steps to the stands. "I take it you wish to hurry things along?"

"Uh, yeah." Harry nodded and looked at his father, who just nodded towards the referee. "Are you..."

"Yes." The referee nodded. "I'm Death. Thought you'd find this easier. I'll give you choices when I get back."

Death mounted his broom and rode off, leaving Harry a little worried.


	5. A Decision

**Chapter 5: A Decision**

It seemed to Harry that Death, the Quidditch referee, had only just flown off before the stands sprang to life around him; there were hands all over him tousling his hair, people saying his name and a kiss on the cheek. Finally James clapped his hands. "Enough, let him breathe!"

"Not like he's actually breathing."

Harry looked over and saw Fred and Sirius laughing at him. But when he turned around there was Colin Creevey, bouncing up and down in front of him.

"Hi Harry! It's so good to see you, you look great!"

"Uh, thanks, Colin." Harry looked around and once again his heart was in his throat, as there, in the stands, was three people who he sorely missed, all of them smiling at him "Remus! Tonks! Professor Dumbledore!" After Harry spoke with them briefly, and suffered through another quick kiss on the cheek from Tonks, Death once again stood in front of him.

"You have five futures to view. You may, however, decline to view them. Once you decline to view them, however, you will not be able to visit them. Others may tell you of that future. When you've decided please fly to the center of the pitch." With that Death hopped on a broom and flew away, out of sight almost instantly.

For the next hour Harry visited with everyone, promising Remus and Tonks that he would take care of Teddy, relived some of what had happened after the Last Battle of Hogwarts with Colin, and made his peace with Dumbledore. The old wizard apologized to Harry for things done and not done, but his blue eyes twinkled when he spoke of Harry's future.

Finally Colin bounced in front of Harry again. "Let me tell you mine! Oh, unless you want to view it." Colin looked down at his shoes for a moment.

Harry couldn't take it. "No, why don't you tell me, Colin."

A vial of silver liquid appeared in front of Colin. Once Colin's hand encompassed the vial it disappeared. "Oh boy, Harry, you won't believe this one. You married Lavender! Lavender Brown!"

"What?" Harry almost couldn't speak.

"Oh yeah, really. You're an Auror, and then you're Head Auror. And Lavender's one of your Aurors and she does pretty good until you come across some really bad werewolves, and she, well, she kinda goes mental. She's in hospital for a while, and you visit her a lot. I guess you feel guilty about her being with werewolves again. Ginny doesn't like you spending that much time with Lavender because you and Ginny are dating but then you chuck her. Ron gets really mad at you and then Hermione gets really mad with him and everything goes to hell. Oh." Colin looked around the assembled crowd. "Sorry about the language. You two, you and Lavender, not Hermione, you spend a lot of time together and she's not like the Lavender I knew, the one that dated Ron. She's kinda quiet and she has a lot of really bad days where she won't get out of bed. But then you two get together and..." Colin blushed fiercely.

"What's a matter, Colin? See some good stuff? Come on, mate, spill the Bertie Botts' Beans." Fred put his arm around Colin. "Come on, then."

Colin glanced at Lily and then turned to Harry. "You two spend a lot of time in bed."

Sirius laughed like crazy until he saw Lily give him a glare. "Oh, right. Sorry. Carry on, Creevey."

Harry noticed that Colin didn't want to continue, and he was sure it wasn't because he'd shagged Lavender in that future. "So what happens, Colin?"

"You live together for a long, long time, but she can't have kids because of the werewolf thing. Wolfsbane does something weird to girls. And Teddy Lupin?" He glanced at Remus and Tonks but turned away quickly. "Teddy hates her. He spends a lot of time with Bill and Fleur Weasley. Doesn't come home for holidays. But you and Lavender live until you're ancient and die in bed."

Harry was quiet; he didn't really like Lavender that much, but it was how Teddy was treated in that future that bothered him. He had to grow up feeling like he wasn't wanted; he didn't want his godson to do the same. To quickly change the topic he turned to Tonks.

"Wotcher, Harry." She beamed at him with electric pink hair. "You wanna know or you wanna go?"

"Uh, know, I guess."

Tonks winked at him. "Well, I come back from the dead and we shag every day."

"Nymphadora!" Remus sat back, shocked.

She smacked him in the stomach with the back of her hand. "Oh stow it, I'm just winding you up. Sorry, Lily, couldn't resist." She smiled again. "You end up with Luna Lovegood."

"Luna? I just took her to Slughorn's..."

Tonks waved him off. "Ages after that. You quit the Aurors after a couple of years because they're trotting you out for all the dog and pony stuff, no offense, Sirius, and you know how much you love that, Harry, doing all the 'Boy Who Lived' shite. Luna's Luna, so she's still pretty spacey, but she's really kind to you. You two actually get along pretty well. I think living next to the Weasleys must have affected her, something in the water probably, because you two have six kids, four boys and two girls."

"Six kids?" James smiled and patted his son on the back. "Good on you, son."

"James Potter." Lily gave him a pointed look. "Hush."

"So what happens after that?" Harry looked at Tonks. "After I quit the Aurors?"

"Well, you kind of bounce around a bit and live off your vaults." Tonks shrugged. "Luna drags you all over the earth looking for crazy creatures, and you teach a bit here, write a bit there. Book's a best-seller, by the way. She's absolutely lovely to Teddy, too. That's all I saw, it ended there, so maybe the future's uncertain on that one."

Harry blinked a few times and shook his head. "That's...interesting."

Fred laughed a few seats over. "Loony always is."

"Shut up, Fred." Sirius smacked him. "She's a nice girl. Little weird, but nice."

"Harry, perhaps I should go next, unless..." Remus raised an eyebrow at him.

"No, I'd rather hear it from you, Professor." Harry smiled, as he knew what was coming next.

"I haven't been your professor in ages, Harry." Remus smiled. "Regardless, my tale is rather pleasant. After a few bad dates with Ginny you ended up at the Leaky Cauldron one night and poured your heart out after quite a bit of Old Ogden's to Hannah Abbott. She's the new owner of the Leaky. You're too pissed to Apparate so she side-alongs you home and puts you to bed. A few weeks later you stop by to thank her and it blossoms from there. It goes slowly at first, but then develops into something stronger. The Aurors keep contacting you but you turn them down, so eventually you two run the Leaky. Later on you have a few more places, including a giant house out in the country. It turns into a bed and breakfast for a while until the children come along, two boys, but after they go to Hogwarts you stay there with Hannah. It's a very quiet life. The only downside, I'm afraid, is that Neville Longbottom and you never quite get along again. It seems Mr. Longbottom has always fancied Hannah, and you swept her off her feet before he could work up the nerve to ask her out. Besides that you're never quite restful, as you always wonder if you should be doing more. You do live together for a long time, though. She's very happy." A sharp elbow from Tonks made his eyes go wide, and he shared a look with her for a moment. "Oh, and Teddy loves her like a mum."

Harry sat there for a while, thinking. A nice, quiet life with Hannah...that didn't sound so bad. Poor Neville, though. Finally he turned to Dumbledore. "Headmaster? Can you tell me yours?"

"Alas, Harry, I'm afraid mine is not so peaceful as Remus' tale. At school I know you were enamored with Miss Chang, and that feeling carried on until it was fulfilled years later, rather late in life. For a spell you were happy, she as a Charms instructor at Hogwarts, you as an Auror. But then the Tri-Wizard Tournament started again, and you two violently disagreed regarding whether it should continue. You felt it was in rather bad taste, but she wanted to honor Cedric's memory. I'm afraid the ghost of Cedric Diggory haunted your marriage, always hanging over the two of you like one of Mr. Weasley's dungbombs. At a very low moment you and another Auror, Seamus Finnegan, to be precise, visited an establishment where young ladies remove their clothing to music."

"Harry!" Lily slapped his hand. "A strip club? How could you?"

Harry shook his head, incredulously. "Mum! I didn't go there! Well, not me, this me, anyway. It's a future!" Out of the corner of his eye Harry noticed Sirius give his father a quick, guilty glance. He wanted to laugh but his Mum's face suggested it was a bad idea so he turned back to Dumbledore. "What happened, Professor?"

Dumbledore's face was sad. "I'm afraid one of the dancers was a schoolmate of yours. After too many drinks with Mr. Finnegan you and the young lady...commenced with friendly activities at her flat. Miss Chang became aware of the situation and your marriage ceased. You felt horrible, of course, but continued to go back to the establishment. One night in another inebreiated fashion you two went to Gretna Green and were married. You never had children and the marriage didn't last."

Harry sat there, in shock. Finally he looked up to Dumbledore. "Somebody I went to school with was stripping? Who was it?'

Albus gave him a resigned look. "Miss Parkinson."

"Pansy Parkinson!" Harry shook his head. "Not bloody likely. She wanted to give me to Voldemort!"

James shook his head at Lily. "Leave it. I don't blame him for cursing on that one." He turned to Harry. "I'm the last one, son. Before you decide, let me ask you; what makes you really happy, happier than anything in the world." He smirked at Harry. "Truly happy."

Harry sat there for a moment and looked around the Quidditch pitch, trying to think. After a while he chuckled, as Hermione would tell him it was as plain as the nose on his face. "Sorry, Mum, but it's Quidditch."

James glanced at Lily for a moment and then turned back to Harry. "Why's that, son?'

"Because up there I'm free. Nobody cares that I'm the Boy Who Lived, nobody cares that I got rid of Voldemort, I'm just a Quidditch player. It doesn't matter what I've done before, it only matters what happens next, if I can spot the Snitch faster than the other Seeker. And I've never felt more free than when I'm on a broom."

Sirius leaned over and put his face next to Lily's ear. "Told you that toy broom was a good idea, Lily."

"Shut up." She looked over at Harry. "You do love it, don't you?"

Harry nodded. "More than you'll ever know." He turned to his father. "Dad, I don't think I want to know the future from the last vial. Somehow I think I'd know if I was in those other futures, somehow I'd know how it all ends up, even if Death says I won't. Some of them are pretty good, especially the ones with Hermione and Hannah, but...I don't want to know."

"That's your choice, Harry." James looked at the assembled crowd. "Don't know about you, but I think it's a good choice."

The others agreed, especially Colin, who was a bit too enthusiastic. Once again Death arrived on a broomstick.

"So, you've decided, then?"

Harry nodded. "Yes. I'm choosing the last one, the one I don't know."

"You don't want to look at it?" Death raised an eyebrow. "You've a chance here that nobody has ever had, a chance to choose their future. Your choice will be final. Is that understood."

"Yes, I know." Harry sighed. "It's just...I don't think it's right. It doesn't seem fair."

"Fair has nothing to do with it." Death smiled at him. "But you have chosen wisely. I would expect nothing less of the one who united the Hallows, but more importantly the one who willingly gave up two of the Hallows. I may see fit to alter your future slightly, based on your feelings on the matter. You have endured much, have given much, and for those who give so generously it is fitting that rewards are given in return." He took out a large pocketwatch, glanced at it, and placed it back into his pocket. "I will give you time, each in measure. Mr. Creevey, you shall go first."

Everyone seemed to fade, as if they were made of smoke, leaving only Colin with Harry. He spent a time with Harry, assuring him that he wasn't to blame for his death, that he was glad to do his part. Finally, Colin disappeared and Fred appeared. After some time talking about the joke shop, thanking Harry for his investment, and a promise to check in on George every now and then Fred disappeared, leaving Dumbledore. The conversation was much deeper with the former Headmaster, as Albus spent most the time apologizing to Harry for his treatment over the years, but Harry was beyond that now, as the anger had faded and was instead replaced by fondness. And then their time was gone, and the time of Remus and Tonks arrived. Together they talked about Teddy, their hope that Harry would raise him as one of his own children, their hope that he would grow to be a good man. Harry promised to never let Teddy forget them, and after hugging both of them they were gone, leaving Harry with his arms around empty air. Sirius was next, and it was harder to let go of him than the others. There was so much the two of them had wanted to do, so much they had talked about, but it was gone now. Instead they talked about the future, and Sirius made him promise to do something completely frivolous and scandalous with the Black money, such as buying a Muggle amusement park. After Sirius disappeared, Harry felt his heart leap in his throat because he knew that his parents were next, and then he would return.

And then Harry felt what he had dreamt about, what he had longed for in the Mirror of Erised, his parents' arms around him. He sat with them silently for the longest time, the only sounds his mum's soft crying. Finally, though, they broke apart, and James wiped away Lily's tears.

"Harry, we couldn't be prouder of you." Lily smiled and brushed away the hair from his forehead again. "You've done so much, you've been so good, always thinking of others. Please remember to think of yourself every now and then."

James nodded. "You deserve to be happy, son. There are people now, and to come, that have a chance thanks to you. Don't be sad, Harry, we'll always be with you."

"I know. I've felt it." Harry smiled as his mum took his hand and his father put his arm around his shoulder. "I've always felt it. It was hard to find sometimes, but it was always there." He took a deep breath. "But I'm a little worried. Every time in those futures that I was an Auror it always went pear-shaped somehow."

"That was...they were only possible futures, Harry." James nodded at Lily. "Besides, Death said you get a few extra whatevers in the happy department. I'd trust Death, Harry."

His mum took her hand out of his and turned his face to hers. "Think with your heart, Harry. Feel what's right. It may not always be the easiest thing, but you'll know when it's right." She put her hand over his heart. "Right here. You'll know it."

Harry smiled. "Is that what you did with Dad?"

She smiled. "I did."

"We did." James answered.

And with that they were gone.

Harry stood up, alone in the Quidditch stands. He looked out and there, in the center of the pitch, stood Death. With a largh sigh Harry hopped on his Firebolt, kicked off and floated down to the pitch. He landed with a slight skid, dismounted and slung his broom over his shoulder.

Death looked at him. "Harry James Potter, Uniter of the Deathly Hallows, you have chosen an unknown future. It is time. Are you ready?"

With an unsteady voice Harry answered. "I am."

"Very well. The taint of the horcrux will never touch you again. Until next time."

Death reached out and with a touch of his finger on Harry's lightning bolt shaped scar everything went white.


	6. The Unseen Vial

**Chapter 6: The Unseen Vial**

White. Everything was white. Harry blinked a few times and tried to sit up but his right arm wouldn't respond. He laid there for a few moments, trying to remember what happened and, more importantly, where he was. With his left hand he felt around and realized he was in a bed. Not his bed, but a bed. He didn't have his glasses on so everything was blurry and indistinct. After a few tries he finally found his voice.

"Hello? Any...one...there?"

"He's awake!" A female voice came from his left and a dark blur moved quickly into his vision. "Mr. Potter, you're at St. Mungo's. I'm Healer Gordon. How do you feel?"

"Can't...see."

"Oh yes, your glasses, just a moment."

Harry felt his glasses eased on to his head gently, at first a bit off-center but finally they came to their regular place. He looked over and saw an elderly Healer in St. Mungo's robes with her wand out and a clipboard hovering above his bed, a quill scratching on it intermittently. Eventually he turned to the Healer. "Can't...feel...arm."

"Oh yes, your arm. That's to be expected, we're regrowing bones and knitting your nervous system back together but on the positive side your skin is as good as new. If your house elf hadn't brought you when he did there was a possibility you would have lost your arm. You should be good as new in a day or two, so be a dear and just relax and let me cast some diagnostic spells."

Harry laid his head back on the pillow and watched as several spells covered his body, mostly his right arm, in various colors. Eventually Healer Gordon leaned over and smiled at him.

"You're doing quite well, better than expected after coming in contact with such a Dark Object. Usually we just see these types of injuries with Curse Breakers and Aurors. It's a wonder they live as long as they do, but that's just the opinion of an old Healer. I'll let your friends know you're awake. Are you up to seeing them?"

"Who's...here?"

"Several people, including Mrs. Molly Weasley. She was listed on your Emergency Contact list from your Quidditch papers at Hogwarts, the ones Madame Hooch has all players fill out before...but you know all about that. They were the last thing we had on file for you."

Harry chuckled. "Her...first. Mental."

"Yes, dear." Healer Gordon shook her head. "You're right, she is almost going mental out there. I'll let her in first, but only for a short time. You need to rest and heal, let the potions do their work."

-ooo-

_In the hereafter James and Lily looked down at Harry's room at St. Mungo's. James shook his head. "She's a little barmy but she treats him like one of her own."_

"_Yes, she does. I don't always agree with her, but she does love him like a son."_

"_She's been a good almost-mum, hasn't she?" James put his arm around his wife. "So what do you think happens next? Sirius thinks a cute Healer will take care of him and it'll be love at first sight."_

"_That's because Sirius is an idiot." Lily rolled her eyes. "That's like one of those horrible Muggle romance novels my mum used to read."_

"_They weren't all bad." James smirked at her. "And you did a horrible job hiding them at the house. In the linen cupboard? You thought I wouldn't find those?"_

"_Hush, you."_

-ooo-

Harry sat out at the Burrow as the sun began to set, sweaty from the usual Sunday dinner Quidditch match. It had been a heated game as Charlie was over from Romania. He and Ron sat out by the improvised hoops, drinking butterbeer.

"I think you'll make a great Auror, Ron."

"Yeah." Ron rubbed his knee where Ginny had nailed him with a Bludger. "Just wish you were going in with me. We'd make a hell of a team. We always do." He was silent for a while and then it just came rushing out. "You can't just work at the shop, Harry! I mean, there's tons of stuff you could do, especially now...shit. Sorry."

Harry rubbed his right arm absentmindedly. It was back to normal, as if nothing ever had happened, but it was a habit that had stuck from his time in St. Mungo's. "It's all right, Ron. I know what you mean. And I really thought about the Aurors until I was in hospital. Stuff like that happens all the time. Happens to Curse Breakers, too. That's what the Healer said."

"Bill's fine, he's in the bank now." Ron kicked a stone away. "But I know he said that he and Fleur talked about it. He said Curse Breaking is great and all but now he's got her and...just seems kinda dumb, giving it up for her."

"I don't think he gave it up for her, more like because of her. Besides, what's Hermione say about you being an Auror?"

Ron shrugged. "She's good with it. I think she knows they'll probably never put me out on the really dangerous stuff, mostly the easy stuff and crap with the papers and all."

Harry smiled, as Ron, his friend who was always jealous of his fame, was finally going to get his share. "Well you deserve it, mate. I've done my time as poster boy, your turn now. Send me an autographed picture sometime, will ya?"

"Oh shove it up your arse." Ron pushed Harry, almost making him drop his butterbeer. After a long bit of silence he turned to Harry. "Charlie said you could probably go professional, you know. He had the scouts on him, so I think he knows what he's talking about. Maybe you could play for the Cannons? Merlin knows they can use the help."

Harry sat there and this time, instead of dismissing it out of hand, he thought about it. He was happiest when he was on his broom, playing Quidditch. It'd always been that way. "You know what, Ron? Maybe I will try out. Just to see."

"Brilliant!" Ron clinked his butterbeer against Harry's and took a drink. After wiping his mouth with the back of his hand he stared intently at his best friend. "And I'm not joking about Chudley."

-ooo-

_Sirius sat at a table with two men who looked ancient, a witch from the Founders' Era of Hogwarts and Death, currently in the form of an Edwardian dandy. Sirius looked over his hand, almost discarded a card but put it back in his hand. Finally he took out two cards and put them down. Death gave him two more. He had almost decided what his bet would be when James came bounding over._

"_Sirius! He did it, he bloody well did it!"_

"_Playing cards, mate." Sirius sat for a moment and then realized what James was on about. He threw his cards on the table and stood up to meet James. "Details, I need details, and I swear if it's Chudley I'm going to haunt their pitch for years."_

"_Oh no, The Pride, mate. Pride of Portree! My son's a professional Quidditch player!" James looked over at Death, who simply smiled, waved at the two happy men and returned to the card game. "I can't believe it, I knew that toy broom would pay off!"_

"_Does Lily know?" Sirius grew concerned. "You know she doesn't have the best opinion of Quidditch players, what'd she always call them? Overprivileged ponces?"_

"_Yeah, but that's before her son was one. Come on, let's go tell her. Sirius, this is brilliant!"_

-ooo-

Harry looked down at the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch, amazed at how slow the school-grade Snitch moved. He was used to the professional ones in the British and Irish Quidditch League now, and it seemed as if the Hogwarts one was moving through thick mud it was moving so slowly, not to mention that it didn't dart and twist away like the one he'd caught against Chudley last week. Ron was happy for him, but he still wouldn't give up that ratty old Chudley scarf; he'd even worn it in the picture of him and Harry that made the front of Quidditch Weekly.

It was while floating up there, watching the Snitch laze around the pitch that Harry heard Oliver Wood's voice, but just a second too late. The Bludger hit him on the right arm, just above the elbow, and hard enough that for a few moments he lost control of the broom. By the time he made his way back down to the ground everyone was huddled around, waiting for him to land.

"It's not bad, really." He stepped off the broom and shook his head. "I've had loads worse."

"Potter, it's a Bludger, they still hurt." Oliver Wood looked at his Pride of Portree teammate and leaned forward, his voice only for Harry. "And this may just be a little PR thing and a treat for the wee ones but you know Hooch won't let you shrug that off. Bad example."

"Right." Harry nodded. "And here she comes."

As expected Madame Hooch wouldn't let Harry ignore the injury; just like old times she sent him to the Hospital Wing. Along the way Harry assured the fourth year Hufflepuff girl that it was quite all right, it was only part of Quidditch, and she was not in trouble. She followed him the entire way up to the Hospital Wing, apologizing, and he felt so bad that he pulled off his Pride jersey and handed it to the girl. It took longer than he expected since, Wood be damned, his arm was hurting a lot more than he initially thought it would.

As soon as he entered the ward Madame Pomfrey looked up from her parchment and sighed. "Some things never change. What is it this time, Mr. Potter?"

"Bludger in the arm, above the elbow. Nothing's broken, but Wood said it'd be a bad example in front of the kids if I didn't come up."

"Too right, too right. All right, on the bed, let me take a look at you." After Harry eased himself up on the bed, making sure to hoist himself up with his left arm, Madame Pomfrey took out her wand. She sighed after waving her wand over him with the standard diagnostic spells. "You didn't break anything but you'll have a nasty bruise. We'll need to take off your shirt to apply some balm. Why are you wearing long sleeves? It isn't that cold out, is it?"

"You don't play a lot of Quidditch, do you?"

"I should say not, at my age."

"Well, even with some slight warming charms it gets a bit brisk up there, especially at speed. Plus, it's kinda what I always wear. Old habits."

Poppy rolled her eyes as she had examined enough superstitious Quidditch players to know all about stinky, lucky socks, not to mention other horrible things. "Well, that may be, but I still have too much parchment to go through. I'll let the new Healer take care of you."

"New Healer?" Harry got a bit nervous. "Madame Pomfrey, you can't retire! You know..."

"It is time, I've had my share of treating students who ignore my advice; besides, I'll be here for two more years before giving up the post officially. On the job training for my replacement. And yes, Potter, I know I've probably seen you more times than I can count, but you're not technically a student anymore. Famous Quidditch player or not you do as I say in here, do you understand, young man?"

Harry fought back a smirk. "Yes, ma'am."

She smiled at him but didn't say another word. After she left Harry sat there for a while, feeling like he was a firstie again, all alone and unsure of what would happen next. Then a set of footsteps caught his ear and he looked to see who the new Healer was, probably another old witch who had spent forever and a day in St. Mungo's or some big bloke with clammy hands who smelled like expired potions. He caught sight of her for a moment, from behind as she walked over to a supply cupboard, and had to admit he was pleasantly surprised. She was blonde, her hair pulled back into a tight bun, and the way she walked was rather nice to look at, if he was honest.

And then she turned to walk towards him and stopped dead after three steps. He felt his mouth open slightly, in shock. Before either acknowledged the little incident she put on her impassive Healer's face and walked over to him, a jar with something blue inside carried loosely in her hand.

"Potter."

"Greengrass."

"What are you doing in my ward?"

"I thought it was still Madame Pomfrey's ward? Do I call you Madame Greengrass?"

"Hardly. The students call me Miss Greengrass, but I think we can skip with the formalities."

Harry smiled. "Sure thing, Daphne."

"Hmmph." She gave him a pointed look. "Which arm, Potter?"

"Right one."

Daphne took a deep breath. "Madame Pomfrey instructed me to remove your shirt. Normally I would just vanish the sleeve but I have to follow orders. Can you lift your right arm?" Harry tried but could only get it level with his shoulder. "That's what I'm afraid of. Lift up your left arm, Potter, and I'll go from there."

Harry complied as Daphne removed his shirt. When she moved around in the front of him she gasped. "What happened to your chest?"

"My chest? I got hit in the arm. I'm starting to wonder about your abilities as a Healer, Greengrass."

"No, there, above your heart." She pointed to the scar. "What happened?"

"Oh, that's from a horcrux. Got it when Hermione and I escaped from Nagini, you remember, Voldemort's snake? It bit me too. I've got another scar from that one, over on my side. The other side."

Daphne moved her head and saw the puncture wound scars on his side, right above the hip. "It wasn't healed very well. What did you use, just Dittany?"

"It's all we had." Harry looked at her, expecting to see a Slytherin sneer, but instead he saw something else, something he was not expecting. His voice quavered slightly when she touched it. "Uh, I've got more scars than those. We're here about my arm, right?"

"Oh yes, right." She moved over and opened the jar. A thick, blue ill-smelling past lay inside. "I'll just put some...and what's this one? This is horrid." She pointed to a scar on his forearm, one that was jagged.

"Oh. Yeah. That's where...don't worry about it, long story. The Bludger hit above my elbow. Probably turning black as we speak."

"Right. Yes. This will sting for a moment and then it will feel rather cold, as if you've put your arm in ice." She cast a impervious charm on her hand, reached into the tub and slathered a thick layer of blue goo over the obvious Bludger impact spot. Daphne half-expected him to jump, and then complain, but he stayed perfectly still. After a few moments she put the lid on the jar, canceled the charm on her hand and stood in front of Harry. "You'll need to stay here for an hour, don't touch it, and then I'll do another treatment. After that you'll be free to go. Now if you'll excuse me I have to report to Madame Pomfrey."

Harry watched her walk away, slightly confused. Most Slytherins he knew, especially when he was in school, would have made fun of his scars, but she seemed genuinely concerned. Not knowing what else to do, and bored of sitting on the bed, Harry got up and walked around the room, staring out the window, trying to listen to the remains of the Quidditch event.

"Potter! Get back in bed this instant!" Madame Pomfrey walked over to him, shaking her head. "It won't set unless you sit still! Honestly, Potter, you've given me more grey hair than any student, perhaps all of them combined. I'm glad I'll be retired by the time your children get here, especially if they have your knack of injury."

He laughed and walked back over to the bed, sitting quickly. "Don't worry about my kids, no chance of that anytime soon."

Poppy looked at him and squinted. "I thought you were dating that girl from London?"

"The one from the papers? Hardly." Harry laughed. "That's just Nancy, she's Conrad's sister. You know who Conrad is, one of our Beaters? Had to go to a work thing and needed a date. It was just a fix-up, nothing there. I think she fancies Wood, believe it or not."

"Yes, well, we don't all live the glamorous lives of Quidditch players." She smirked at him for a moment. "And how was Daphne? Excuse me, how was Miss Greengrass? Are you satisfied with the care you received?"

"Uh, yeah. Sure. She was great." He watched as Madame Pomfrey nodded. "Uh, can I ask you a question?"

"You just did, Potter."

"Great, now you sound like McGonagall. First year, all over again. Uh, about Daphne..."

"Yes, what about her?" Poppy bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling.

"Has she never seen scars before? She was kind of, well, shouldn't a Healer be used to things like that?"

"Potter. Harry..." Her voice was softer and she moved closer to him. "There are scars and then there are scars, my boy. She's seen her fair share, she has, but yours are no ordinary scars." She flipped open her clipboard. "Lightning bolt shaped scar on forehead, locket-shaped scar on chest, puncture wound scars on side above hip, scars on right hand from blood quill, scar on right forearm from..." She waved her wand at the clipboard and it disappeared. "And that's just from today's examination. Merlin knows what you'll get next. But Harry, you have to remember, some people still have a hard time believing what happened, and all that you went through. Don't discount Daphne, she's gone through a lot as well; not as much as you, obviously, but then you were always a special case."

She and Harry smiled at each other, and then Poppy Pomfrey did something that surprised her. Later on that night, over tea with Minerva McGonagall, she couldn't quite explain why she did it, but they both agreed it was for the best.

"Harry, do you know where Daphne was, during that horrible night? The night Voldemort..."

"No, I don't. She was probably with the other Slytherins, I guess."

Poppy shook her head. "No, Harry, she was here, with me. When the other Slytherins left she came back and came to me, offering to help in any way she could. She was the one who helped everyone, regardless of who they were or what house colors they wore. She was the one who held Nymphadora Tonks' hand as she passed. She knows that evil bastard was wrong, and that many in her house were wrong, but she did the right thing. She helped heal." She watched as Harry's emotions played over his face. "Seeing your scars made it real for her, Harry. I think she is beginning to realize what you went through."

Harry nodded and was silent for a moment, but then he turned his face to Madame Pomfrey with a smirk. "She said she didn't need to take off my shirt, but you said she had to. Any particular reason?"

Madame Pomfrey waved her hand at him. "Oh, silly me, I must have given her the wrong instructions. Oh well, too late now. She'll be back soon, so keep your shirt off." With a smile she walked out of the room, leaving a confused Harry Potter in her wake.

-ooo-

_Tonks walked over to Remus with a sly smile on her face. He was reading, as usual, something esoteric and ancient from the biggest library in the universe, totally concentrating on the pages. She slipped behind him, put her hands over his eyes and giggled. "Oh Remus, pull your head out for a minute. You need to see this."_

_Remus pushed her hands away, sat the book down and turned in his chair to face her. "And what exactly will I see? Is it about Teddy?"_

"_Hmmm, yes and no. More like about Teddy's godfather."_

"_What's Harry doing? He didn't take him up on a broom, did he?"_

"_Nope, though he's been talking to little Ted about broom safety. He's just put our little man down for a nap and he's talking to Mum."_

"_Nymph..."_

"_Remus. Not even now."_

"_Fine." Remus blew out his cheeks. "So, Tonks, I fail to see why this is so important to view. Harry and Andromeda are talking, it's quite natural, to be expected, actually."_

"_Yes, but it's not about Teddy. Come on. I think you'll be surprised. OH! And don't say a thing to my cousin. Sirius will be insufferable about it if it really happens."_

-ooo-

Harry sat on Andromeda's sofa while she busied herself in the kitchen with the tea things. He'd wanted to talk to her about it but didn't quite know how to approach her. Even after all these years Andromeda Tonks was still an imposing woman when she wanted to act the part; Harry knew her as Teddy's Gran, though, as he'd seen how tenderly she worked with the boy. Teddy had asked not too long ago why he only had a Gran and a Harry, and the conversation had been quite difficult for all parties, although for different reasons. Eventually, though, Andromeda entered with the tea service levitating still and level, without an inch of wobble, and motioned it down on the table.

She poured the tea and handed Harry a cup. "I take it something is on your mind."

"Uh, yeah. You can say that." Harry added two sugars and a large dollop of milk. "It's kind of hard."

"Most things are." Andromeda took her tea without the addition of any milk or sweeteners. After a sip she studied him. Harry Potter was many things to many people, but she knew how unsure of himself he could be at times. She also knew that he was quite comfortable speaking with her on many things that others would deem too private; their relationship as Teddy's caretakers had become one of a favorite aunt and nephew, so Harry's reticence in speaking about a topic that had obviously bothered him the entire visit meant, in Andromeda's mind, that is was something of import. She resisted the urge to prod further, knowing that Harry did not do well answering questions, but would speak of things when he felt the need.

"Like when you and Ted got together?"

Andromeda's eyes widened. The topic was one that she did not expect. "That, my dear boy, is quite the understatement."

Harry let out an embarrassed laugh. "Sorry, it's just...I think I've met someone."

"Either you've met them or you haven't." She took a sip of tea and inwardly smiled at his unease, as it was obvious that he had met a woman that had piqued his interest. What woman could have caught the eye of Harry Potter? After all, women sometimes shamelessly threw themselves at his feet. Not only was he Harry Potter, but he was a professional Quidditch player, so he did not trust easily. "So tell me about her."

"Uh...how'd you guess?" Harry quickly took a biscuit and crammed half of it in his mouth, partially to have something to do but also because the act of chewing would prevent him from talking for a bit.

"It's quite obvious. You've seem preoccupied the entire time when you and Teddy were not actively engaged in an activity." She shrugged. "Experience leads me to believe you have met a woman, but the fact that you have waited until now to broach the topic makes me think you're unsure for some reason. Is it because of Ginny Weasley? Do you still have feelings for her?"

Harry finished chewing rapidly after that question. "No, Ginny and I are just friends now. I'm glad we're that, to be honest. It's just...I met someone who I thought I knew and she's nothing like I thought she was. And, sorry, Andromeda, I know it shouldn't matter, uh, but I thought I could talk to you, because, well, you see..."

Andromeda rolled her eyes. "Merlin, Harry, spit it out. Stop, think what you want to say and then say it, don't meander about, think then speak."

After a deep breath Harry sat his tea cup on the table. "I met a woman who I didn't think of very well when we were at Hogwarts because she was in Slytherin. After what happened, though, I'm beginning to think there's more to her than what I thought."

"Ah, so the young lion is afraid to admit admiring a snake." She laughed, and the corners of her eyes crinkled slightly. "So you wish to ask me, as I should know, a Slytherin who married a Muggleborn Gryffindor, about the difficulties involved." She reached over and put her hand on his. "Harry, her parents and family could not possibly be worse than mine. So who is this young lady who has caught your eye?"

"Daphne Greengrass." Harry blurted it out as if he'd been holding it in all day, which in reality he had been; it'd been on the tip of his tongue several times to just say 'oh by the way I think I might ask Daphne Greengrass to come see the next Pride match.' "I met her at Hogwarts. She's a Healer."

"Greengrass, Greengrass...isn't her father the one who..."

"He deals Wizarding Antiques. Some high end stuff, I guess. That's what the shop looked like, anyway, from the street. I looked in the window the other day."

"Well, don't let that put you off. Why the sudden interest?"

"I got hurt at Hogwarts, it was nothing, no big deal, really, but she was in the Hospital Wing. She's Madame Pomfrey's apprentice. I guess she'll take over when Madame Pomfrey retires. She treated my arm and saw my scars, but there was more to it. I guess it's, I don't know...but she made me curious." He blushed slightly. "Plus she's pretty. Blonde."

"Nymphadora always said that blondes have more fun. I used to hate her hair that color. She did it on purpose. But it sounds like you've already made up your mind to at least ask her for a date, Harry. Why ask me about..."

"I didn't say I was asking her out yet." Harry looked at her, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Harry, it's all over your voice, the expression on your face when you speak of her. You are interested. Ask her on a date. Get to know her. You'll soon find out if the relationship is worth pursuing." She took a sip of tea. "You are a Gryffindor, Harry, as was Ted. Use that Gryffindor courage and ask her out. Is there an event upcoming in your schedule?"

"Uh, yeah, actually there is..." Harry smiled. "We're doing a big thing in Bulgaria, going up against Krum and their national team for a friendly. Big reception and ball before the match, international relations type thing. PR lot eats that stuff up. Lots of press."

"Hmmm...perhaps not the best venue for a first date. Ask her to dinner and possibly a Muggle movie. Ted and I loved those."

Harry sat there and thought about it. What would Hermione say? Hell, what would Ron say, him dating a Slytherin? Could be worse, it could be Parkinson. Ron would lose his wits if that happened. But then he looked over at Andromeda and thought if Ted Tonks, a Muggle, could ask out one of the Black sisters, he could do it. After all, didn't he make it through all the crap with Voldemort? "A movie sounds brilliant."

-ooo-

_Sirius walked over to Lily and James, flashed three fingers and sat down next to them in an overstuffed chair. The motion did not go unnoticed, though, as Lily looked to her husband, then Sirius._

"_What was all that about. Three?"_

_Sirius shrugged. "He was right. I said two, but James said three or more."_

"_Told you, Sirius." James laughed and then looked over at his wife. "It's not bad, Lily, I just said Harry would see the Greengrass girl at least three times this week."_

"_I'm still not sure about her." Lily closed her book and looked at the two men, both with identical smirks. "What?"_

_Sirius rolled his eyes. "They've been seeing each other off and on for almost a year now, you're still not sure? Even after he stayed at her place last night?"_

_James put his head in his hands. "Sirius, you idiot." He braced himself for a Lily tirade about them sleeping together, but it never came. "Lily?"_

_She glanced at them. "He's a grown man, not to mention a Quidditch player. I'm not surprised. I'm still not sure about them, though. It's not good of him to lead her on."_

"_That makes no sense." Sirius swung his legs out and crossed them on the table. "You're not sure about her, but you don't want Harry to lead her on. What's the real problem, Lily? Is it because it's just like your Muggle romance novels, and I want it on the record that I called that, or is it because she was in Slytherin?"_

"_No, that's not it, it doesn't matter that she was in Slytherin." Lily shook her head. "If Ron Weasley, of all people, decides that she's good enough for Harry who am I to argue?"_

_James and Sirius looked at each other and answered in unison: "His mum!"_

"_Quiet, you two. And not another word about those Muggle romance novels." Lily looked up to see Fred Weasley walking their way, a stunned look on his face. After he sat down he didn't say a word until Lily cleared her throat. "Something we can do for you, Frederick?"_

_Fred blew out his cheeks and then ran both of his hands over his face. "I can't believe it. Did a quick check on Mum and Dad and they were planning Sunday dinner. They're making it a big one, because Harry's bringing Daphne over to meet them. Meet them all, and I mean everybody. Even Aunt Muriel, and Harry hates her. Don't argue, you know she's awful." That got a general consensus from all assembled. It was quiet for a while until Fred's voice broke the stillness. "I'm pretty sure that means he's gonna ask her to marry him. Harry Potter. Married to a Slytherin. Somewhere, somebody's gonna make a lot of Galleons on that bet."_

-ooo-

Harry listened as the alarm went off, entirely too early for his tastes. It was one of his off-season days where nothing was planned; no personal appearances at schools, no training, no strategy sessions, not a bloody thing, but the alarm kept going on and on. Finally he reached over, across Daphne's side of the bed, and turned off the alarm. People thought it odd, the fact that the Potters lived in a large house in Muggle Inverness, but to Harry it worked out perfectly. He was somewhat close to the Pride of Portree stadium and training grounds while Daphne was fairly close to Hogwarts. Beside that, in Inverness he and Daphne were simply Harry and Daphne, not 'Harry and Can You Believe Potter Married Daphne Greengrass?'

He was awake now, and needed tea, so he looked for his slippers and dressing gown but they were nowhere to be found. He got up, looked in the usual spots, but couldn't find them. Finally Harry gave up. "Kreacher, can you come here please?"

Kreacher appeared with a pop. "What can Kreacher do for Master?"

"Sorry to wake you, but where's my dressing gown and my slippers? I could have sworn I left them right over there."

Kreacher nodded. "You did, Master, but Mistress Daphne is wearing them now, she is." He hesitated for a moment but a lopsided smile crept across his face. "Mistress Daphne is in the toilet, she is. Kreacher tied her hair back, he did. She has news, Kreacher knows."

"Wonderful. She can't be ill now, we have the publicity event in London tomorrow night. Never mind, I'll go check on her, thank you, Kreacher." Harry opened a dresser drawer, pulled out a t-shirt and hurriedly put it on while walking to the downstairs loo. By unspoken agreement both of them used that one when they were ill, to spare the other from hearing the retching in the bog attached to their bedroom. As he rounded the corner to check on his wife he heard noises in the kitchen, so instead he doubled back and headed there. She sat at the kitchen table, in his robe and slippers, sipping tea. Kreacher was right, she looked pale, as if she'd been vomiting recently.

"Harry..."

"It's ok, Daph, don't worry. I'll tell the PR lot that you're ill and we won't go."

"No, you pillock, I'll be fine then. It's just morning sickness."

"Well if it's just in the morning, then, shouldn't be a problem. If you feel ok, that is. More tea?"

Daphne smiled at him. "Sure. Thanks."

Harry poured her more tea and made himself a cup. After sitting down he put the back of his hand on her forehead. "You feel clammy. Do you want me to Floo Poppy? You know she said we could any time, even though we've never bothered her."

"Go ahead." Daphne smiled weakly at him. "I'm sure she'll agree with my diagnosis."

"Healers." Harry shook his head and went to the fireplace. A few moments later Poppy Pomfrey appeared in their kitchen, wearing a rather garish yellow and red paisley dressing gown as well as some sort of hair bonnet thing on her head. "She's in here, Poppy. I told her she doesn't have to go to the thing but she won't listen, says she only feels ill in the morning."

Poppy and Daphne shared a look between them and Poppy nodded. "Hmmm, yes, interesting. Let me see." She took out her wand and waved it over Daphne. "Yes, well, it's very common. Long incubation, I'm afraid. You will be left with the results for a lifetime, though."

"A lifetime? Merlin!" Harry went over to Daphne. "We'll get the best Healers, I don't care what it costs, they'll know what to do."

Daphne gave him a look and moved her blonde hair over her shoulder. "Merlin, you're thick sometimes. Not quite as bad as...Harry, you complete and utter idiot, I'm pregnant. Morning sickness? Hello? Earth to Harry?"

"Oh." Harry sat down at the table. "Well, yeah, I'm an idiot." He reached over and kissed her excitedly on the cheek. "We're gonna have a baby!"

Daphne rolled her eyes. "It's a good thing you're sweet and cute. Tea, Poppy?"

-ooo-

_Molly Weasley sat with her son as Arthur Weasley and James Potter sat in two rather large leather chairs. Both men looked very contented. Finally Arthur looked over to James. "I'm very proud of my children, James, and I hope you know I consider Harry a son. I hope you and Lily don't mind."_

"_Mind? Arthur, I couldn't be happier." James took a deep breath. "I can't bear to think what would have happened if he and Ron hadn't met each other on the train. Or if he and that Malfoy brat became friends. Still, it's worked out in the end, hasn't it?"_

"_Yes, it has." Arthur looked over to make sure that Molly was busy with Fred and then leaned over to James. "I do believe Molly hoped that your Harry and our Ginny would be together. I think it's worked out splendidly as it is, though, but let's not mention the other bit, shall we?"_

_James patted Arthur on the shoulder. "Wouldn't dream of it."_

"_Perfect." Arthur leaned back into his chair. "You know, all those years ago I would have never imagined Harry with Daphne Greengrass, of all people, but she's a good one, James. That first time he brought her to the Burrow was quite tense initially, everyone walking on eggshells. I think it was when she helped Andromeda with Teddy that things changed." Arthur laughed. "The boy ate too many biscuits and Daphne helped settle his stomach. Brewed up the potion right there on the spot! She delivered almost all of my grandchilden, you know. Hermione insisted on a home delivery, of course, but hat lasted until the first real contraction and Ron had her at St. Mungo's in a flash." He laughed and then looked over to James, a much more sad look on his face. "And she was with me as well as Molly at the end. Very comforting. If we have more people sorted into Slytherin like her then Hogwarts will be a better place."_

"_It already is, Arthur." James nodded. "Still can't believe he did that after retiring, but after what happened when Umbridge was there I'm not surprised. Then again, I guess you can't play Quidditch forever."_

"_He was rather good, wasn't he?" Arthur smiled. "Molly stopped everything when he and Ginny played each other, that was for certain; Holyhead versus Pride of Portree was quite the occasion. I'm glad they stayed friends. Would've been hard on Molly."_

_James winked at Arthur. "Not to mention you. You got lucky in that department as well, her marrying Neville Longbottom. They're around here somewhere, you know, Alice and Frank. See them from time to time. I'll have to tell them you're here now."_

"_Tell who what?" Molly sat down next to Arthur and took his hand. "What's going on, dear?"_

"_We're just doing what we always do, Mollywobbles, talking about the children." Arthur patted the top of her hand. "Specifically Ginny and Harry."_

"_I'm so proud of him, James. Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, it was perfect. Especially with Daphne and the children right there. The children were so lucky, both their parents at Hogwarts. Minerva said she spoiled the children horribly, if you can believe that. Her right as a Headmistress."_

_Arthur shook his head. "I still can't believe he named the boy after me."_

"_Hey, I'm in there, too." James pointed a finger at Arthur. "It's Arthur JAMES Potter, remember."_

"_I'm just glad he didn't name the girls after you." Molly chuckled. "Poor little Arthur, two older sisters and a younger sister. I'm just glad Ron and Hermione's boys have helped him along, teach him the boy things."_

"_Not to mention Teddy. It was a shame there was such the age difference, though. He was at out of Hogwarts when little Arthur came along. They grow up so quickly." Arthur looked over to Fred, who lazed in a hammock. "They grow up so quickly."_

-ooo-

Harry opened his eyes but all he could see was white. Daphne had told him that his sight was going, but he thought the new glasses were supposed to help, not make him blind. He cursed slightly and started to get out of bed and it was at that exact moment he realized he wasn't actually in bed. Instead he simply floated in a field of white. It reminded him of something, something he couldn't quite put his finger on...and then it hit him. He knew exactly where he was, but this time it wasn't King's Cross Station.

"Hello there, I'm dead, aren't I?"

"Yes, you are!" the voice rang back.

"Sirius." Harry muttered and took a deep breath. He imagined his comfortable old dressing gown, the one with the lions and the snakes that his grandchildren gave him ages ago, and it appeared on his shoulders. He stood up slowly, making sure to use his left arm to push off of the surface, as Daphne had been on him for years about that right arm. He'd somehow managed to injure it several times while playing Quidditch and she assured him that it was structurally weaker than the left. But just to test it, he switched and pushed off with his right arm.

Nothing. Not a twinge.

"Ah, there you are, Harry." Sirius walked over through the mist, still looking as young as ever. "Took your time, didn't you?"

Harry chuckled. "Yes, yes I did. Do you blame me?"

"Not at all, Harry. Not at all. Knew it would be a Healer. Besides, four kids, nicely done!"

"Yeah, and three wedding dresses."

"Oh quit whingeing." Sirius put his arm around him. "Now let's go see your parents again. They've been dying to see you. Get it?" When Harry didn't respond Sirius looked at him oddly. "It wasn't that bad."

Harry shook his head. "No, it wasn't, but that's not it. I think I'll wait for her."

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? Could be a while."

"Yeah, I'm sure." Harry closed his eyes and smiled. Shortly thereafter a little bedroom popped into existence. He heard Sirius ask him a question, but he didn't quite hear it, as he was focused on what stood before him. "What was that?"

"This place." Sirius pointed to the little room. "I don't recognize this."

"I'm glad you don't." Harry rubbed a hand over his right arm. "This was my first place in Scotland, the first place that was just mine. I rented it when I signed with Portree. It was the first place that...well, I'm sure you can guess."

"That I can, that I can. Tell you what, why don't you just have a kip and I'm sure she'll wake you when she gets in. Ok?"

Harry nodded. "Can you tell everyone? I hope they'll understand."

"Sure thing, Harry. Sure thing."

Harry closed his eyes and almost immediately sleep came over him. Initially he had hoped it was a dreamless sleep until Daphne arrived, but instead he relived all of the good parts of his life. Hagrid telling him he was a wizard on his eleventh birthday, a random afternoon with Ron and Hermione at Hogwarts, catching the Snitch the first time, and then it became a blur. Events began to whir through his mind; the first, awkward date with Daphne, meeting her parents, watching her sister Astoria dump Malfoy, laughing at the first double date with Astoria and Oliver Wood, the first time Pride of Portree won the league, being tapped for England and then later, the next cup being tapped for Scotland, dancing with Daphne, the first time he brought her to the Burrow, introducing her to Teddy, the birth of their oldest daughter Elizabeth then the births of Katherine, Arthur and little Lily, his retirement from Portree and days spent walking the grounds of Hogwarts with his wife. Standing up with Ted at his wedding to Victoire. Watching how Slytherin began to change, how the ancient feud with Gryffindor faded into the background, the day that Minerva McGonagall changed his life yet again when he moved from Defense Against the Dark Arts to Headmaster. Finally those last days, his children and grandchildren around him, as Daphne and Hermione told him it was ok to go, that it was time. Falling asleep holding Daphne's hand.

Time. Time was no longer a resource, no long water running through his hands, time was no longer an issue. He had time. Plenty of time. All the time in the universe.

"Harry? Harry, love, wake up."

He opened his eyes and there she was, young again, as young as she was that first time he really saw her for who she really is, not who he thought she was. He reached up and touched her hair. "Daphne. I hope I didn't make you wait too long."

She sat down on the bed, moved the covers aside and slid in next to him. "No, it wasn't too long." She snuggled in close to him. "Your first little flat. I'm not surprised. I loved it, too. So cozy. Remember how we'd just stay in bed? For warmth, mostly."

Harry laughed. "The heat was miserable."

"No, there wasn't any heat. If there was heat it would have been miserable." She chuckled and sighed. "I could stay like this forever."

"We have forever, Daph, but there's some people I want to see. Some people I want you to meet."

"Oh my Merlin!" Daphne slid out of bed quickly and looked around. "I need a...oh. That's handy." She picked at the silk kimono. "The one you brought me back from that international match in Japan. I thought the dog ate that one."

"It did. Then it was sick all over the sofa." Harry slid out of bed and smiled at her. "But I've been here before, remember, I know how this works. Sort of." He held out his arm to her, kissed her softly, and then began to walk. It was only a short distance before they came upon a wonderfully set tearoom with two occupants. One of the occupants had vibrant, long red hair while the other had messy black hair. Harry stopped in front of them. "Mum, Dad, I'd like you to meet the love of my life. Daphne, this is..."

"Lily and James, I've wanted to meet you for so long." Daphne went towards Lily who held out her hands. As the two women embraced James hugged his son tightly.

"Dad?" Harry pulled away slightly. "I've been wondering something."

"Yes?" James looked over at the women, who were busy talking. "I think I know what's on your mind, but go ahead."

"I had choices, didn't I? It wasn't just a dream when I was in a Dark Object coma, was it?"

"No, it wasn't." James glanced over at Daphne and Lily. "Do you remember what they were? We don't. We remember we helped you with choices, but that's it."

"Same for me." He looked over to Daphne, who smiled at him. "But I think I made the right one. No, that's not right. I know I made the right one."


End file.
